Chieftec BL-01B Case Review

Introduction:

Are you in the market for a new chassis for your computer? Do you miss your old IBM case that would let the monitor sit atop of it on your desk? Well if you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, Chieftec may just have the perfect case for you. The BL-01B chassis uses the old IBM style case and has an added a new feature that allows you to not only have a smaller form factor case sitting on top of your desk with your monitor included in the tight space, but allows you to put your high performance components inside. The L shape of the Chieftec BL-01B case is going to allow you to save more of your desktop's space by combining both your case and your monitor into a small space allowing for more work to be done on your desk, which has always been a problem for me. I am really looking forward to taking a look at what this case looks like and to see if it is going to be able to keep the temperatures within a safe range with its compact size, so let's get to it.

Closer Look:

The packaging that the Chieftec BL-01B Case came in is your very plain and simplistic brown box, however they have spiced it up a bit by adding the Chieftec logo on the front side of it. Chieftec has also printed the main selling feature of the case, the fact that it is a "Patented L-shape computer chassis can be integrated with a 48-61cm (or 19" - 24") LCD monitor to form an LCD PC." There is a line drawing of the front side of the case printed under the top bar with the company information/case description that shows you exactly how the front of the case has been designed. There is a second black bar under the image that lets the shipper know that it is fragile, cannot be dropped, needs to stay dry, etc. The side of the package is going to display the manufacutring number, the package number, and how many pieces are packed into the package, which most all of it was written in by hand. The other two sides of the package look exactly the same as the one across from it. The packaging is not very impressive or extravagant, but it does not need to be, all it needs to do is hold the product and keep it safe; in this case, it happens to be the Chieftec BL-01B Case.

When you open up the packaging, you are going to find out how well Chieftec has packed the case, taking into account that accidents during the shipping process do happen. The first line of defence is the styrofoam molding to ensure that if it does get dropped or poked with another box, the case would not take the damage - the styrofoam would. After you get the styrofoam off, you are able to see that Chieftec has taken the time to wrap the entire case in a plastic bag, to make sure that when it is being shipped it should not get any scratches on the paint job that the chassis has undergone. I am anxious to see what the Chieftec BL-01B looks like standing up all on its own.

Now that we know exactly how the Chieftec BL-01B case has been packed for a safe ship, it's time to see what all of the features the case has look like first hand, so let's get to it.